Manually propelled vehicle

Abstract

A manually propelled vehicle having an assist function that assists walking of a user includes a vehicle body, a wheel for moving the vehicle body, sensor that detects an operating force, power driver that supplies power to the wheel based on the operating force, a motion sensor that detects a movement of the vehicle body according to the operating force detected by the sensor; and controller that controls the power driver, wherein, when the user operates the manually propelled vehicle while the assist function is deactivated, the controller activates the assist function based on the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A manually propelled vehicle having an assist function that assists walking of a user, comprising:
 a vehicle body;   a wheel for moving the vehicle body;   sensor that detects an operating force;   power driver that supplies power to the wheel based on the operating force;   a motion sensor that detects a movement of the vehicle body according to the operating force detected by the sensor; and   controller that controls the power driver, wherein,   when the user operates the manually propelled vehicle while the assist function is deactivated, the controller activates the assist function based on the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , further comprising a rotation angle sensor that detects rotation of the wheel, wherein the controller activates the assist function when the rotation angle sensor detects that the drive wheel has rotated a predetermined amount from a stationary state of the manually propelled vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , further comprising a rotation angle sensor that detects rotation of the wheel, wherein the controller activates the assist function after a predetermined time has elapsed from a stationary state of the manually propelled vehicle. 
     
     
         4 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , wherein the power from the power driver is not transferred to the wheel when the assist function is deactivated. 
     
     
         5 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 4 , further comprising a switch that cuts off the power from the power driver so that the power is not transferred to the wheel when the assist function is deactivated. 
     
     
         6 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller detects the operating force detected by the sensor or the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor while the assist function is activated, and deactivates the assist function when a periodic fluctuation associated with walking by the user is not verified in at least one of either the detected operating force or the movement of the vehicle body. 
     
     
         7 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a grip for the user to grip while operating the manually propelled vehicle; and   a grip sensor that detects when the user grips the grip, wherein   if the grip sensor does not detect gripping of the grip and the motion sensor does not detect movement of the vehicle body, the controller activates the assist function when the operating force detected by the sensor is within a predetermined range.   
     
     
         8 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a grip for the user to grip while operating the manually propelled vehicle; and   a grip sensor that detects when the user grips the grip, wherein   if the grip sensor does not detect gripping of the grip, the controller deactivates the assist function when the motion sensor repeatedly and continuously detects movement of the vehicle body for a predetermined number of times.   
     
     
         9 . A manually propelled vehicle having an assist function that assists walking of a user, comprising:
 a vehicle body;   a wheel to move the vehicle body;   sensor that detects an operating force;   a power driver that supplies power to the wheel based on the operating force;   a motion sensor that detects a movement of the vehicle body; and   a controller that controls the power driver, wherein   the controller detects the operating force detected by the sensor or the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor while the assist function is activated, and deactivates the assist function when a periodic fluctuation associated with walking by the user is not verified in at least one of either the detected operating force or the movement of the vehicle body.   
     
     
         10 . A method for controlling a manually propelled vehicle comprising an assist function that assists walking of a user, a vehicle body and a wheel for moving the vehicle body, the method comprising:
 detecting an operating force;   supplying power to the wheel based on the operating force;   detecting a movement of the vehicle body according to the detected operating force;   controlling the power driver; and   when the user operates the manually propelled vehicle while the assist function is deactivated, activating the assist function based on the detected movement of the vehicle body.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising detecting rotation of the wheel and activating the assist function when the detecting of the rotation detects that the drive wheel has rotated a predetermined amount from a stationary state of the manually propelled vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising detecting rotation of the wheel and activating the assist function when the detecting of the rotation detects that a predetermined time has elapsed from a stationary state of the manually propelled vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising cutting off the power to the wheel when the assist function is deactivated. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to any  claim 10 , further comprising detecting the operating force detected or the movement of the vehicle body while the assist function is activated, and deactivating the assist function when a periodic fluctuation associated with walking by the user is not verified in at least one of either the detected operating force or the movement of the vehicle body. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 10 , further comprising:
 detecting when the user grips a grip to operate the manually propelled vehicle; and   if neither gripping of the grip nor the movement of the vehicle body is detected, activating the assist function when the detected operating force is within a predetermined range.   
     
     
         16 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 10 , further comprising:
 detecting when the user grips a grip to operate the manually propelled vehicle; and   if the gripping of the grip is not detected, deactivating the assist function when the movement of the vehicle body is detected repeatedly and continuously for a predetermined number of times.   
     
     
         17 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 2 , wherein power from the power driver is not transferred to the wheel when the assist function is deactivated. 
     
     
         18 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 3 , wherein power from the power driver is not transferred to the wheel when the assist function is deactivated. 
     
     
         19 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 2 , wherein the controller detects the operating force detected by the sensor or the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor while the assist function is activated, and deactivates the assist function when a periodic fluctuation associated with walking by the user is not verified in at least one of either the detected operating force or the movement of the vehicle body. 
     
     
         20 . The manually propelled vehicle according to  claim 3 , wherein the controller detects the operating force detected by the sensor or the movement of the vehicle body detected by the motion sensor while the assist function is activated, and deactivates the assist function when a periodic fluctuation associated with walking by the user is not verified in at least one of either the detected operating force or the movement of the vehicle body.